The section Marx the Prophet explains that if nothing else Marx would have been received well by people who needed a theory to explain what was happening in their society. The section Marx the Sociologist focuses on how Marx's theory of class fits in with the larger intellectual traditions of the day and how it superseded them in at least its ability to synthesize sociological thought. The section Marx the Economist focuses on Marx's economic theory and judges it excessively "stationary" (pp. 27, 31).